The Setup
by WindowChild
Summary: Aphrodite foolishly schemes to set Nico on a blind date.


A/N: Pointless, but hey, I wanted to do something with Nico and Clarisse together. They never interact, do they?

Nico di Angelo stared out the window of his penthouse, watching the rain annihilate the sidewalk. It glistened a little bit, the translucent blue of the water turning to light under the moon.

He sighed, silently bemoaning his apartment's lack of ice cream. Oh wait, he reminded himself, that was the beauty of New York. It didn't matter if it was pouring or nine o'clock at night, you could still go out.

He grabbed his coat, fumbling with his key in the lock. It had been a little less than a month since he owned his own apartment. Everyone had advised him against it, of course.

"You're sixteen!"

"You'll get lonely!"

Nico had rolled his eyes, replying that he'd been alone before. He didn't _get _lonely, he lied. And besides, no one could feel _alone_ in New York City.

Anyway, with the majority of his friends at college, where else was he supposed to go? Stay at camp all year? Please. He wanted to go to college too, he'd reminded Percy. The combination of these things shut them up, making them feel guilty for abandoning him and proud that he had plans.

So here he was. The Big Apple, top floor of some fancy building. Though he would never admit it, Nico was a bit in love with New York. The dark sophistication – right up his alley; the bustle of people – it was less obvious, but Nico liked this kind of crowd. They were comforting without being overbearing; they surrounded him without trying to steal his personal world.

He walked the soaked concrete, feeling the water edge its way between his toes. "Thanks Poseidon," he thought, "Now I have to wash these socks."

He didn't mind though, not really. The rain was calming. It emptied the streets and left only a few dedicated dog-walkers outside. He smiled for a brief second, before opening the door to the corner deli.

"Hello Mr. di Angelo."

Nico gave a wave to the cashier, making a beeline to the frozen section. Ice cream, then. And he would get several cartons, so as not to run out again. He _was_ sixteen, after all.

"That's all?"

"Yeah," Nico replied. His money – which seemed to come from ambiguous funds and sponsors – was set up on an allowance. If he kept buying extraneous food, he couldn't afford Sims 3.

"Alright, then," the cashier said. He grinned. "Nice weather we're having, huh?" He rolled his eyes, waving agitatedly out the window.

"Yeah," Nico said, shrugging. He was still bad at small talk. "Well, thanks. See you." He grabbed the bag, nodding at the guy behind the character. They were still on a no-name basis.

He left the store, peacefully absorbed in his thoughts. He must look strange, he knew. He was still short, his black jacket nearly drowning him. He'd let his hair grow out, so that it brushed the very bottom of his neck. He liked it that way, although he could tell that his friends were on the skeptical side. He had the distinct feeling that they were waiting for him to have an identity crisis or something.

Too bad, he said to himself. They're at college, and I'm the king of New York! The sky shot forward with a blaze of lightning, and Nico backtracked. "Oops," he thought, "Sorry Zeus."

"Hello."

He whirled around, having been unaware that he wasn't completely alone. "Um… hello?" Gorgeous hair, gorgeous smile… His stomach speedily dropped through the sodden pavement, as he remembered who it was. Aphrodite.

"Uh – uh," he stuttered foolishly, slapping a sappy grin on his face. He had dimples, he'd been told. Was it wrong that he hoped they were showing right now?

"I'm so glad I found you," she said silkily, "Walk with me, will you?"

"Uh…" Nico replied, hastily following her lead. "Where are we going?" he asked, after a few minutes. He blushed, furious with himself for doing so, when she turned around.

"Oh, just a coffee shop. There's a friend of yours, waiting."

"A friend of mine?" Nico asked, confused. "Who?"

"You'll see, you'll see," Aphrodite giggled, smiling down at him. "Right here."

Nico glanced inside. It was…okay. Not too pink, although there were several bouquets of flowers. He scanned the place, but couldn't identify friends. Who could it possibly be, anyway? Everyone he knew was from Camp Half Blood.

"Come on, Nico!" Aphrodite said, her voice dangerously entering singsong territory. "Don't you want to say hi to Clarisse?"

"Clarisse?" Nico froze, fully understanding the definition of the word "stunned". "Um… she's here?" He had never been all that close to Clarisse, and had honestly only spoken to her a handful of times.

"Yes," Aphrodite said, characteristically oblivious to his fidgeting. "Her boyfriend, Chris, I don't like him." She wrinkled her nose.

"You – you don't?" Nico asked. He shrugged uncomfortably, remembering other stories similar to this. Aphrodite, sweet as her intentions were, enjoyed meddling. She also didn't understand the fact that some relationships weren't fairytales.

"No," Aphrodite shook her head. "Nothing against him. It's just… they're not right for each other."

"And I am?" Nico squeaked. The whole thing embarrassed him, really. Besides, he'd never really talked to Clarisse, and she had a history of bullying, and weren't she and Chris very close?

"Who knows," Aphrodite said, sending his chest into a seizure. "But I thought you'd be a good match, maybe. And while he's at college she just looked so lonely…"

"Isn't she at college too?" He felt slightly worried about blatantly correcting a goddess, but it had to be done.

"Yes," Aphrodite replied, her fluffy expression deflating to one of satisfaction. "But he's not here right now! He's in California! And I thought that it might be nice for her to have a friend."

"Well, okay," Nico sighed, knowing better than to resist. She was a goddess, she could do whatever the Hades she wanted to. He really didn't have a say.

"Wonderful!" she exclaimed, looking him over. "Alright, I suppose your appearance will do. But next time try to wear a nicer shirt, alright?"

Nico glanced down almost defensively, feeling protective of his token black tee. "Okay," he replied sullenly, reluctantly shrugging off his jacket. "Where is she?"

"Over there," Aphrodite said, gesturing to the counter. "I'll wait around, just to make sure you two are having fun."

"Great," Nico replied, attempting to keep the sarcasm to a minimum. He approached her, feeling nervous. What do you say to someone a goddess set you up with?

"Clarisse?" he asked, his voice low.

She turned, her eyebrows furrowed. He was surprised a moment, as he first saw her face. She had changed a lot, since he'd seen her last. Her face had slimmed down, her eyes taking on a more symmetrical appearance. Her hair, which had once been lank and lifeless, was cut in delicate waves around her face. She looked frighteningly close to pretty.

"Nico?" So she remembered his name, at least. He didn't have to feel _that_ pathetic.

"Um, I'm sorry. Aphrodite told me you were here…" He gestured to the goddess, who was watching them with delight.

Clarisse looked confused for a moment, and then raised her eyebrows in recognition. "She's the one who left the note then."

"The note?"

"I was told I had a job opportunity here."

"Job opportunity?"

She nodded, taking a sip from her coffee mug. "Yeah. Coaching a little kids' softball team." She rolled her eyes. "I'm not sure why I came in the first place."

Nico paused, deciding not to ask why she wanted a job anyway. Wasn't she in school? "Sorry about this," he muttered, avoiding her eyes. "She sort of dragged me here." His eyes widened, realizing how that sounded.

"It's okay," Clarisse said, her voice dull. "You wouldn't be the first." Whether she meant Aphrodite's prey or someone trying to evade her, he wasn't sure. "Is that her?"

"Yeah," Nico said, sighing. He slowly claimed the stool beside her. "That would be her."

Clarisse smiled quietly, and Nico noticed the way her eyes brightened. "She's some step mom, huh?"

"Step mom? Oh, right." He pulled his jacket back around him, purely for something to do. "Hey, I think I'll go get a muffin, okay? I'll be back in a second." He stood up, purchasing a blueberry muffin from the counter. Sadly, he realized that his cartons of ice cream were probably melted by now.

He returned to the counter, giving Clarisse a nod.

"Just out of curiosity," Clarisse said. "Did she mention to you anything about Chris? My, um, boyfriend?"

"No," Nico said, lying to escape the inevitable awkwardness. "She didn't."

"Oh. Okay."

Nico glanced at her closely, realizing how much she'd changed. Wasn't Clarisse stubborn and hotheaded and all that? That's what the others and always said.

"Wait, Nico, I think she's getting worried. Smile a little, okay?"

"Sure," Nico said, obliging with a toothy grin.

Aphrodite smiled at them, and Nico sighed in relief.

Clarisse gave a low laugh. "You're scared of her, aren't you?" Her voice sounded almost taunting, and Nico felt oddly relieved. That was the Clarisse he'd heard stories about.

"Not scared," he replied, feeling the urge to defend himself. "It's just… I don't know, she's Aphrodite."

Clarisse made a sound of scorn. "You don't want to disappoint her."

"No!" Nico replied, hurriedly. "It's not that." And he was telling the truth, of course. That was only half of it.

"Anyway, how've you been?" Clarisse asked.

"Um, okay," Nico said. "I'm living in the city now."

"Me too," Clarisse replied. "Going to Barnard."

"Right," Nico said. "Well, I'm going to school here too."

"I heard." From Annabeth or Percy, Nico guessed.

"How is… how is Chris?"

"Fine," she said, shortly. She was clearly avoiding the topic.

"Good to hear," Nico replied. He pushed his tongue against his teeth, hating how terrible he was at chatting with people. Not that he wanted to be good at it, exactly, but it would have been nice not to feel moronic.

"Some storm," Clarisse said.

"I know," Nico replied. The two stared out the window, simultaneously watching the rain pummel the garbage cans into soggy heaps. "We haven't had a downpour like this in a while."

"Yeah," Clarisse replied. Nico quietly took in the sound of her voice, liking how strong it was. She meant every syllable that she said.

She looked sad now, though, and Nico wasn't sure what to say to her. They'd run out of 'how are you' and the weather. What now?

"Are you going to visit camp this summer?" Nico finally asked. "I mean, I know you graduated, but…"

"Funny you should mention that," Clarisse said, turning to him. "I had an interesting idea."

"What?"

"What if we tried to locate the older half bloods?"

"Huh?"

"Percy's done a great job making sure that all of the new ones get claimed, but what about the adults? I know I'd like to talk to them."

"Yeah…" Nico said. Silently, he wondered if he had siblings from before the pact was made. He doubted it, for some reason, although there was no way to be sure. There would be new siblings coming, he knew. Hades had left his palace a couple of times already, and Nico was pretty sure that babies came out of nearly every outing…

"That sounds cool," Nico replied, nodding along.

Her phone buzzed then, and she looked at it swiftly. "Oops, sorry Nico. It's Chris." She picked it up, and Nico tried not to look to uncomfortable as she talked to him. Her voice sounded okay. Sure, maybe she wasn't perfectly happy like she'd once been with him, but it didn't sound like they were fighting. That was life, wasn't it? Aphrodite should have given them a fighting chance, Nico decided. It certainly didn't sound like they were breaking up.

He glanced over his shoulder, catching site of the goddess's irritated expression. She'd had other plans for how the night would go. He winced a little, noticing her walking towards them.

"Clarisse," he muttered, nudging her. "Look."

"I've got to go, okay?" she muttered, into the mouthpiece. "No, don't worry about it," she said, sounding edgy. "It's just Nico."

Nico hunched his shoulders for a distraction. Just Nico. That was a new one.

"I've got to go, okay? Okay? Please, Chris, I'll talk to you later." She shut the phone, sounding upset. "Sorry about that."

"That's – oh, hi Aphrodite."

"Hi," Aphrodite said. "Listen, Nico, it's almost eleven o'clock. It's a little late for someone your age to be outside, don't you think?"

"I guess," Nico replied, at the same time he thought 'not really'.

"Goodbye," Aphrodite said. She put her hands on her hips, waiting impatiently for him to leave.

"Okay… bye…" Nico said. He gave Clarisse a hopeful wave, shrugging. It was nice to see her, he supposed. She certainly wasn't the bully he'd been told that she was.

As he left, he heard Aphrodite lecturing her. 'Helping you' and 'you hardly put in any effort' were two of the phrases he caught. He shook his head, smiling a little. The gods would never get it, would they? Sure, they were all powerful, but there were certain things that they were just ignorant too.

Nico started home, completely oblivious to the fact that his first "date" had been a strike out with a daughter of Ares. The rain had let up, a little, and he only had to watch out for puddles now.

As if to show the gods that they couldn't get him down with their little schemes, he jumped in one. It splattered over a car, and lightning flashed. He laughed anyway, smiling up at the sky. They'd brought him to New York, hadn't they? It didn't matter that he was a pessimist down to the bone – no amount of storms would ruin his new life.


End file.
